After the Rain, Before the Deluge
by BeatReader
Summary: After the rain Bluebell has only a few days of relief before the heat returned. The rising temperature & memories of their non-hook-up leave Zoe & Wade wondering what comes next.


**I had this in my head and thought it would make a good stand alone piece. The rain broke the heat wave, but not for long. The temperature shot up again and Zoe and Wade can't ignore what almost happened.**

**A short reprieve from my other story. Please read and review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hart of Dixie.**

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><p>After the rain Bluebell had a few days of reprieve before the heat returned in force and the residents had little time to recover before the next onslaught. The return of the heat and with it the memories of her and Wade's non-hook-up had Zoe slightly out of sorts. She found herself a little lost for words on the few occasions she had seen Wade over the past week.<p>

In the kitchen with Lavon, Zoe resumed her mild rant about the earth being on fire and ran an ice cube up her arms when Wade walked in. He, only in a pair of shorts and with a shirtless chest, had not allowed her method of cooling herself to go without a remark full of innuendo. Zoe found his comment combined with his appearance made her slightly flustered. The memory of bandaging his tanned, abdomen during the last round of 100+ degree weather was flooding her mind. She excused herself from the kitchen rather awkwardly and headed back to the carriage house. Her hurried exit did not escape either man's attention and Lavon had given Wade a look after she left.

"What was that about? I thought you said nothin' happened with you and Zoe," the Mayor asked.

"Nothin' did." Wade answered with a little more agitation than he intended. "I got no idea what's stuck in her craw."

Lavon gave him another look with eyes narrowed. "Lavon Hayes is not buyin' that. I think you know exactly what is goin' on with Zoe's craw."

Wade just shrugged his shoulders, but wondered to himself about the flush of Zoe's cheeks after this comment. He might not admit it to anyone, but he hadn't been able to get Zoe off his mind since their "almost" moment a week ago, hell it was longer than that if was being honest. The return of the heat had only made it worse.

Zoe was trying to follow Lavon's advice of letting go, but it went against every fiber of her being. It took years of focused determination to become the Zoe Hart she was today. It wasn't easy unpeeling that onion to get a little closer to the "let loose" side of herself, a side she was not sure even existed. If it did, this heat wave would drive it out of her. Zoe returned to her place and, having learned a few things during the last heat wave, decided to repeat her swim in the pond. Now that was one thing Wade had been right about – it was freeing jumping into the cool pond on a hot day. She changed into her two-piece and grabbed a robe before heading out to the pond. After all, Wade had caught her last time when she had been sans swim suit.

She stood at the side of the pond and dipped her toes in the water. She dropped her robe and dove in. Once her skin touched the water she could feel every cell in her buzzing in exhilaration from the immediate cool it provided.

Wade was walking back to the gatehouse when he heard the splash. He picked up his step remembering the last time he caught a glimpse of Zoe Hart, in all her glory, swimming in the pond. When he made it there he saw Zoe floating peacefully on her back with her eyes closed. She was in a bikini, not her birthday suit, which was slightly disappointing, but he chose to focus on the positive. He took off his shoes and dove in himself, the noise of which jolted Zoe.

She felt him before she saw him. He swam up beside her under the water. When he resurfaced he was inches away from her and Zoe's jaw dropped a bit. She could feel the heat from his body he was was so close. Wade was pleased with her reaction, it matched his objective. He gave her his cock-eyed smirk and asked, "Enjoyin' your little swim, Doc?"

Zoe took a deep breath and stepped back from him. It was hard for her to think straight with him that close to her. She found herself struggling for a witty, antagonistic comeback but they eluded her. No finding one she turned and dove under the water instead. Wade found her lack of an answer intriguing and swam after her. He caught her by the waist and pulled her above the water.

"What are you doing?" she asked once she caught a breath.

"Oh I don't know, I thought you were playin' some kinda Marco Polo and I was supposed to catch you." He answered with that trademark smirk returning.

Zoe placed her hands on his, which were still on her waist. She paused for a moment, and his breath hitched a bit in his throat. But she quickly removed them. Before he could react, she had swum to the edge and was getting out of the pond.

"Aww c'mon, Doc? It's a heatwave." He called after her. She was making him crazy. What was her supposed to do with a girl like this?

She was half way to her place already and did not look back when she answered.

"Um, I was done anyway. Gotta go, Wade." She stammered, hurrying back to the safety of her gatehouse.

He didn't mind watching as she walked away in her two-piece, but would have preferred she was still in the water with him. He dove back in; figuring it was second best to a cold shower. When he came up for air he shook his head. _Damn, that girl is all up in yer head, Kinsella._

Zoe closed the door and leaned against it once she was inside. Her head was swimming now and she touched her waist where Wade's hands had been. _What is wrong with me, _she thought. Zoe shook her head and took of her wet swim suit before changing into a tank top and some shorts. After spying out the window for a bit to watch Wade swimming in the pond, she grimaced at her voyeuristic behavior and plopped on the couch. She would stay in she decided. It would be safer she thoughte until she heard the sound of someone coming up the steps. Her door opened and she jumped. Everything seemed to make her jump these days.

"Don't you ever knock?" she exclaimed.

There he was - wet and carrying her robe. He chuckled at her reaction.

"I looked in your window and you were decent." He chuckled again at her as she crossed her arms over her chest in response to his comment.

He enjoyed a good stare at her while he was at it. She was in a white tank top and short jean shorts with her hair still damp. He mused that part of the problem, or the benefit depending on how you looked at it, of heatwaves was the minimal clothing it necessitated. Wade was having a hard time keeping his feet planted where they were and not grabbing her right then. The sight of her with her head slightly down, eyes looking up at him and biting her lower lip was seriously tempting him to abandon any remaining self-control. But he pulled it together and remembered the purpose, or excuse, for his visit. He held her robe out to her.

"You forgot this by the pond."

Zoe stood still for a moment. She wasn't sure what it was about Wade. Yes, he was attractive and without a shirt he was just plain hot, but there was more to it. She couldn't wrap her head around it on a good day, and today with the heat and him half naked, she was even more confused. And what was with the looks he gave her. Was he teasing her or flirting? Was he interested or did he think she was too high maintenance? She took all of this in, not realizing that she still had not said anything to him.

Wade finally raised his eyebrows, "Doc?"

She blinked her eyes, seeming to return to earth.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." She finally said.

She took the robe from him, and then basically pushed him out the door and closed it.

"You're welcome," he yelled from the other side.

_That's it, _she thought_. I am a danger to myself and others. I can't even carry on a normal conversation._

Zoe stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon, but being alone in her little gatehouse apartment wasn't helping her keep her mind off of Wade. Instead she replayed in her mind the two times they had kissed, as well as the night she showed up at his door the week before. That memory seemed to be on a loop and she kept wondering if maybe she could be that kind of girl just once.

_I mean, what's wrong with one night? _she thought. She was pacing. Zoe couldn't think of one of her girlfriends back in New York who hadn't done it and they never had regrets. In fact, they would usually giggle with excitement when they told her about it. _Was this what Lavon meant when he said to let go? _was her next thought.

"Arrgh!" she exclaimed.

She had been doing this all afternoon and it was now evening. She needed to turn her brain off. She needed a drink. Zoe thought about it and remembered it was Wade's night off from the Rammer Jammer. She headed to the bathroom to change.

When Zoe walked into the Rammer Jammer she saw Shelly at the bar and exhaled with relief. The place seemed to be packed. Appeared a lot of folks in Bluebell wanted to get out of their houses and avoid turning on their stoves. Or maybe they were trying to get their minds off of impure thoughts too. Zoe took a seat at the end of the bar and Shelly walked over to her.

"Hey Zoe, what can I get ya?" Shelly asked with her usual perky disposition.

"I need a big glass of wine." Zoe answered sounding defeated.

Shelly brought her a glass and filled it. "So the heat is finally gettin' to you too, huh?"

Shelly's tone had a hint of "told-you" to it. Zoe opened her mouth to protest, but gave up. Who was she kidding?

She nodded her head and told Shelly, "It definitely has. I can't even try to deny it."

"Just makes ya human, like the rest of us." Shelly laughed as she walked away to take other orders.

Zoe sat at the bar and drank her wine. It started to work and she began to zone off into her own little world. That was when Wade came out from the "Employees Only" door behind the bar with a beer in his hand. He saw her, but she didn't seem to notice him. He made his way over to her and leaned in towards her over the bar.

"Whatcha doin', Doc?" he asked with a leer to his voice.

He caught her off guard and when she focused Zoe realized she didn't have her usual will to respond with a quippy comment.

"I needed a drink," was her simple answer.

Wade pursed his lips and nodded. "I know what y'mean." His voice had lost the leer.

"I thought tonight was your night off." Zoe asked. Her whole plan was to not run into him. His car had been in front of his place when she left.

"It is, but I needed to get out." He answered. He wasn't going to tell her that he'd spent all afternoon thinking about her till it drove him from his own home.

Zoe nodded in understanding.

Watching from the other end of the bar Shelly smiled when she saw Wade leaning in towards Zoe. _They need to just go for it, _Shelly thought.

Wade came around the bar with a fresh beer and sat next to Zoe. Both of them seemed more relaxed. Whether it was them each having a drink in them or just being too tired to fight off what they'd been struggling with all afternoon, it didn't seem to matter.

He started to joke with her about how her blow-out seemed to have gone to hell in the heat and humidity. He took some of her hair, now wavy, in his hand to demonstrate his point and she playfully slapped it away. She asked him if he'd had anymore run in's with Rammer Jammer fence and he gave her an annoyed smirk. This banter continued on for the next couple of hours; each of them cracking jokes and the other either laughing or narrowing their eyes in mock annoyance.

Finally Zoe stood up. Two glasses of wine - she felt much more relaxed, but not drunk. She purposely stopped at two. She was afraid if she had anymore she couldn't be held responsible for what she might say to him.

"I think I'm going to head back." She told him. She paid her tab and said goodnight to Shelly.

Wade stood up. "I'll come with ya'."

Zoe couldn't decide if the lack of a come-on in his voice should make her feel better or worse and mulled that over while they walked out. They were on the quiet dirt drive back to their respective homes when Wade started making small talk about how the heat might break in the next day or so, definitely by Monday he said. Probably a thunderstorm, but maybe not. Either way it'd be good. If the heat kept up there'd probably be a black out, not that he and Zoe weren't experts on blowing out the power. He was on the verge of babbling.

Zoe nodded and made some random small talk sort of remarks of her own. Before she knew it they were standing at her steps and he was turned to face her. His head was cocked to the side and he was biting his lower lip. He just stared at her, not with his cocky grin, but something else. It was the look he gave her that night outside his place when the rain started. Her tongue rubbed against her top lip reflexively.

"Uh, Doc, can you take a look at these stitches? Make sure they're healin' right."

Wade wanted to come in but hadn't worked up enough moxie to make a move.

Zoe snapped out of her own staring. "Uh, yeah… sure. You want to come inside?" she asked the last part less confidently than she intended so she tried to recover. "My bag's in there."

He nodded slowly with that look on her face. She turned and made her way up the steps and he followed. She closed the door once they were inside and went to get her bag. When Zoe turned around he was standing there without his shirt. Catching her breath, she blinked her eyes and walked over to him.

_Pull it together, _she told herself.

As Zoe leaned in to look at the stitches, she saw the cut had mostly healed. She softly moved her fingers along the outside edges of the stitches, Wade's breath caught in his throat from the contact. When she looked up his face was inches from hers.

"Everything looks good," she told him, trying to focus. "They can probably come out in a few days."

He didn't seem to hear her and raised his hand up to her face. When she didn't flinch he closed the remaining space between them and kissed her. The minute their lips connected both of them felt the last of their resolve evaporate. Her hands moved to his back and his around her waist. He pulled her into him and kissed her harder. This went on for some time, neither of them slowing down.

Gradually his mouth began to move to her neck as she tilted her head. Her hands were around his neck and in this hair. His moved down to the hem of her shirt and underneath. He moved them over the skin of he sides, then down along her waste. Before he went any further he pulled back which surprised her.

He looked at her with a question, "Do you want this, Zoe?"

She looked back at him with intense eyes and nodded, "Yes. I want you."

Zoe placed her hands on either side of his face. She looked deep in his eyes so he could see the truth in her words. He looked back at her and waited. It was her move.

She smiled at him before she pulled herself on her toes and kissed him. His hands moved back down her sides to the skin of her waist and lower back. She pulled him closer and his hands moved up her back. The kisses were deeper and deeper. Finally, Wade lifted her up, arms around her waist and moved them towards her bed. She wouldn't stop the kiss and he walked and he almost stumbled over her a pair of her shoes. They both breathed out small laughs but kept to their focus.

Laying on her bed, he hovered over her, slowly dipping in to kiss her neck and shoulders as her hands moved further down his back. He rolled her over and then sat them up so he could pull her shirt over her head. Wade watched her face and the look in her eyes as he moved his hands down her arms then repeated the movement on her back. She moved her hands down his chest slowly towards the top of his pants. His eyes burned into her then and he rolled her beneath him. Zoe allowed one stray question to enter her head, but the searing kiss he gave her quickly was erased it from her mind.

They heard the rain begin to hit the roof and they both stopped to look at each other. Both waiting on the other, watching. Slowly the side of Zoe's mouth rose into an amused smile and Wade returned it before he resumed his attention to her neck. Rain or no rain. Whatever had stopped them before didn't seem to be at play tonight. The rain was the prelude to the thunderstorm that rolled in; thunder and lightening through the night was a perfect parallel to what was happening with the two of them.

By the morning the heat had broken. Wade woke to find Zoe's head on his chest and her legs tangled in between his. He should have been figuring out how to make his exit, but found he didn't want to move. He'd never been with a girl like Zoe and knew this was more than some free pass. He leaned his head back and smiled. _Who'd a thunk?_ he mused.

He looked down at Zoe, still asleep. He had to do this right. She would overthink it if he didn't. He pulled her tighter to him and kissed the top of her head. He felt her stir and her arms wrapped around him. Then she stopped. He held a slow smirk, she was awake.

Zoe's eyes blinked open and she realized he was still there. She wasn't sure he would be. If they had been at his place, she probably would have left before the morning. She felt him tracing circles on her shoulder her arms instinctively closed aroung him. Everything felt right and the night before had been incredible. None of this felt like a one night stand, even though that's what it was supposed to be. She worried it was all in her head. This was Wade after all. Only one way to find out she decided. She drew in a deep breath to keep the nerves at bay and lifted her head to look at him. He smiled and lightly touched her cheek before he kissed her.

When Wade slowly pulled away from her he could see the questions running through her head. He knew this was it and brushed some hair from her face.

"Now I don't want you to think, I just want you to answer." He said as he continued tracing the circles on her shoulder. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes," she blurted out and eyes were wide.

Wade chuckled and then kissed her again. "Good, cuz I like you Zoe. I really do and I want this."

He looked at her patiently, seeing the wheels turning in her head, "No thinking, just tell me."

Zoe saw how he looked at her. It wasn't just in her head. She also realized what he was doing and had to give him credit, he knew her - better than she thought.

"Me too," she said. "I want this too. I want you."

Wade pulled her up to him and then rolled her beneath him. "Yeah?" he questioned her with his cocky smirk in place.

She let out a small laugh and nodded. That was all he needed to lay one helluva good morning kiss on her.

His mouth moved towards her ear and he whispered, "Man, now that's what I call a heat wave."


End file.
